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The e-learning bus that we should not miss:

Disruption is the new business buzzword. It has affected even education in many ways. For profit institutions, Online, blended, hybrid education models are all its manifestations. The education paradigm is staring at a large shift – and in all probability it could be pinned down to three reasons. The pressures of a large growing and young population, the exponentially increasing cost of education and the need to reach the unreached with quality as a prudent necessity. It could also be a sum total of these issues. That being said, Steve Jobs’ words of 2005 will ring true – “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future” We are all blessed with a hindsight. So let’s see where this experience and good old wisdom leads us.

 Knowledge is of two kinds, deductive and experiential. While the student gets initial guidance and understanding of concepts and the premises and continues studying with his discrimination, experiential knowledge on the other hand, is supposed to be accrued on the job. In both, an unwavering faith in the teacher, and a determination to follow his word on the path, irrespective of how it sounds to his discriminatory logic is expected.

ध्यानमूलं गुरुर्मूर्तिः,पूजामूलं गुरुर्पदम् , मन्त्रमूलं गुरुर्वाक्यं, मोक्षमूलं गुरूर्कृपा 

(Guru’s presence is the object of meditation, his feet – the objects of worship, his words – the objects of chanting and in his grace lies the source of liberation.) A traditional Guru-Sishya interface probably is the best way to learn. However, the current day pressures are such that education is sought to be imparted “online” a la Eklavya Parampara, only that no thumbs are given, nor asked for, though Dronacharyas may be lurking in the shadows.

 The University of London was the first to offer distance learning degrees, establishing its external Program in 1858. Criticised for being a “godless” university, as a compromise that emerged later, it also acted as an examining body along with the King’s College London, and awarded degrees.

In India, most of the Private, Deemed Universities and State Universities offer so called Distance Education, where usually students are registered in Study centres and Franchises, IIT’s and IIM’s also conduct online learning at PG level. Many private enterprises offer online courses for working professionals and Professional bodies like AMIE, IETE and a host of others claim use of blended learning and claim equivalence of their certifications to professional degrees.

The widespread use of computers and the internet have made distance learning easier and faster, and today virtual schools and virtual universities deliver full curricula online. Many private, public, non-profit and for-profit institutions worldwide, now offer distance education courses from the most basic instruction, through the highest levels of degree and doctoral programs. Levels of accreditation vary. Widely respected universities such as Stanford and Harvard now deliver online courses. Truly providential, that such methods are available when we have a higher education of GER of no more than 22. Missing the bus will be too polite a word if we do not seek out appropriate dividends.

Various methodologies have been experimented in both synchronous as well as asynchronous learning, over a period of time to impart both deductive and experiential learnings. The current delivery methods have been using all the innovations with a student centric doctrine. Hence we see the class room teaching, innovated through technology and the technology inspired online mode, using the traditional learning methods, often obliterating the differences and merging the gaps.

The total enrolment in higher education is about 33 Million of which 11% currently is under ODL system in whatever form the same is being enforced. A targeted ODL of about 50% has only been 20% to date. The country invests about 3.65% of GDP in education making it imperative to look at asynchronous learning methodologies that may cut the cost of education for the learner. In this process, all regulations must be enabling enough to reach the unreached.

Distance education or distance learning is for students who may not always be physically present at a school. Traditionally this involves correspondence of courses via post. Today it involves online service. Courses that are conducted worldwide (51 percent or more) are either hybrid or blended. Massive open online like courses (MOOCs), offers large-scale interactive participation and open access through the World Wide Web or other network technologies, are recent developments. A number of other terms (distributed learning, e-learning, online learning, blended learning etc.) are used synonymously with distance education. In spirit, distance education must not be bound by jurisdiction. Technology is the thread that binds all these together.

Whereas online education is a superset, distance education is the Subset, Blended learning is the Master Set. Blended is a formal education program in which a student learns, through delivery of content and instruction via digital and online media with some element of student control over time, place, path, or pace, while still attending a “brick-and-mortar” school structure, face-to-face classroom, part time and on mutually agreed times, for acquiring various skills, be it in a workshop or a laboratory or a garage. However, the skills imparted are also technology enabled and are combined with computer-mediated activities. The theory of Skills is conducted online.

In as much as the model is highly interactive, reaching the unreached, one can have a better monitored, and continuously evaluated outcomes, providing Expansion, Excellence and Equity with no need for study centres and franchises. However, this is highly technology intensive, requiring use of biometrics, IRIS Scanners, Image processing, and integration of stereo vision and cameras. Very suitable for objective assessments, the cost may not be as low as one would expect. Good Online content would be the key.

Some concerns persist. Logically, any course-work leading to the award of a degree or a diploma would remain the same irrespective of the mode in which the same is delivered.

Assessment can be the most difficult activity to conduct online, and can be quite different from the bricks-and-mortar version. Special attention needs to be devoted to proctoring and cheating. The two most common methods of assessment are machine-graded multiple-choice quizzes or tests and peer-reviewed written assignments. Machine grading, rubrics-based answers, of written assignments also must be explored. Exams may be proctored at regional testing centres. Other methods, including “eavesdropping technologies allow testing at home or office, by using webcams, or monitoring mouse clicks and typing styles. Special techniques such as adaptive testing also may be used, where the test tailors itself given the student’s previous answers, giving harder or easier questions accordingly. Whatever these are, principally, can we deny that the assessment is made of the student, albeit differently, the course work remaining the same?

Can we then, award a different degree or a diploma when the mode of delivery changes? Even mention of “ODL” or “Online” against a “B.A” (referred as an example) may defeat the very purpose.

Delivery of education in different modes is an excellent way of reaching the unreached. However, the mode usually defines the inputs, the process and the outcomes. Accreditation of a certain mode of delivery, for example in regular mode, does not guarantee the success of delivery in other modes. Hence it is extremely necessary that each mode of delivery has to be assessed and accredited separately by evaluating its specific parameters since the teaching and learning processes are different.

A university or an institution approved for rendering coursework in the regular mode is, a priori assumed to provide quality education and is subjected to accreditation and assessment after two cycles of operation. It is another matter that though accreditation is mandatory, no provision to penalise those that do not pass the grade or even those that do not even apply exists today. How do we justify a university or an institution waiting for five years before it can cater to its asynchronous users? Further why must only an accredited university be treated differently for this mercy? Would an affiliated institution with a similar accreditation not deliver?

All interventions and innovations must be inclusive. The regulations must also provide for Lifelong learning introduced first in Denmark in 1971, through the Bologna Process which is an “ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated” pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons. Therefore, it not only enhances social inclusion, active citizenship, and personal development, but also self-sustainability, rather than competitiveness and employability.

Like spinoffs that accrue out of an innovation, the spinoff of MOOCS, which actually was an expression of lifelong learning and similar other initiatives, must also be explored in our journey to reach the unreached. SWAYAM is a step in the right direction though it calls for a massive participation of all sections of the citizenry.

Whether ODL, or any other connotation, it is a great move to implement, in the country’s literacy juggernaut. However, we need to guard against some pitfalls like relying on user-generated content that can at times create a chaotic learning environment and creating or using substandard online materials. We also need to recognise that the time and effort required may exceed what students are willing to commit to an online course and that once the course is released, content will be reshaped and reinterpreted by the massive student body, making the course trajectory difficult for instructors to control. This However, should not be a reason to throw the baby along with the bathtub.

The challenge of e-learning is, like James Bates said: “The most profound words will remain unread unless you can keep the learner engaged. You can’t see their eyes to know if they got it so… say it, show it, write it, demo it and link it to an activity”. Can our wisdom, entrepreneurship and passion make us swamp these challenges? Time will tell.

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